Often, when addicts or people struggling with compulsive behaviors are unable to stop or find relief despite repeated efforts and methods elsewhere, they give the 12 Step program a try…out of necessity.

The 12 Step Program

While the 12 Step Program originated in Alcoholics Anonymous, the 12 Steps have been successfully adopted by numerous 12 Step fellowships in order to address various addictions and problems. These fellowships are usually recognizable by their “Anonymous” names, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous, etcetera, yet some 12 Step programs (such as Adult Children of Alcoholics and Al-Anon) do not have “Anonymous” in their name.

(Here is a more extensive list of the 12 Step programs currently in existence.)

While some of the 12 Steps refer to “God”, the program maintains that it is not a religious program, but rather a spiritual program wherein the member may define their own personal meaning for and approach towards what the program calls a “higher power” (a or any) power greater than oneself.

12 Step programs are a major resource for many people in recovery, and they are free of charge.

12 Step recovery also involves utilizing “tools” of recovery (see below), which help to facilitate the working of the steps, but do not replace the steps.

12 Step programs, as free, non-denominational fellowships without centralized government, operate utilizing a set of principles/guidelines known as the 12 Traditions.

For more information about the origin of the first 12 Step program, click here.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

TOOLS OF RECOVERY*

• Sponsorship

• Meetings

• Telephone

• Writing

• Literature

• Anonymity

• Service

*Note: Different 12-Step programs utilize additional tools that are specific to the type of recovery

For more information on the tools of recovery, please inquire within your specific 12 Step program of interest.